Adios Granada, Hasta La proxima vez

Day 307.

Hola Todas, Que Tal, Bien Bien, Y tu (one insence por favor)

Describing our 3 months in Granada whilst giving it the full credit it deserves would truly be a mammoth task and likely require a second book all to itself which quite frankly we just can't afford now we’re back on that backpacker budget.

A summary of the highlights therefore will have to do, for now at least. One thing that cannot be omitted is Tapas, Tapas hunting was our number one activity, by a long way in fact. Learning Spanish, making friends, or just about anything else was rapidly pushed aside to make way for Tapas time. In order to recall only the greats I’ve challenged Ellie to come up with her ’Tapas last meal’, if only 5 Tapas from Granada could be your last meal before you die, what would it be… and this was her answer:

Tapas

Casa Julio - Cod Fish

Chanterella - Pork

Avilla - Roasted Ham

La Esquinta - Mussels

Central Mercado - Jamon & Queso

One day we hope to return and revisit all of these on this list, just maybe not in July next time.

When not eating, sipping on cerveza or vino  or just enjoying a siesta we would try our best to learn Spanish, as we had promised ourself many times over that this was something we would achieve! This formed a key part of our daily routine, starting with light speed Spanish videos over breakfast in bed each and every morning. As a result we will always recall Spanish with Cynthia & Gordon with very happy memories! It was also the few hours of the day that it was cool, and therefore one of the only times we could study without sweating through our clothes, which was nice.

Meeting the locals to practise Spanish was also memorable, I use memorable rather than useful because honestly it wasn’t really. Spending 20 minutes jumbling up your Spanish without being corrected followed by typically 3 times as long teaching English was never going to be that beneficial, but hey we did meet some great people, and some odd ones (cough, cough) Moses…

When not out on the cobbled streets of Granada babbling spanglish and enjoying coffee with the locals we would most likely be on the terrace. We will never forget the evenings (and nights) spent on that terrace, especially during the magical time of golden hour. Learning to paint the mightly Alhambra, countless games of crib, sharing smores with friends and even learning Salsa. The views of Granada and times spent here together will not be forgotten in any hurry!

Last but certainly not least was doing what we enjoy most, hosting. Times here with friends and family were amazing, albeit exhausting, as playing tour guide typically is. It also tended to be when our eating and drinking habits increased most drastically, whether it was the litres of beers sunk at Nikki & James’s rooftop pool or the 2kg Tortilla we worked our way through with Diane and Paul..

Spending our final night watching the sun come down over the albazin from the Church was the perfect way to end a great three months here. We still haven’t learnt Spanish, certainly didn’t lose any weight & might now be verging on semi alcoholics but I think we can most definitely say that we haven’t regretted a second.

Adios Granada.

Spanish Language Top Tips:

If you’re ever stuck for a response, por ejemplo in a shop try the phrase ‘practicar’ it’s sure to get you by, certainly did for Ellie.

Not sure on the price of a teapot - ‘Que es eso’ is always worth a short, get it over the net Craig, just get it over (special shout out to Michelle, RIP).Okumaya devam et